ACADEMIC REPORT WRITING -

Format and some useful ideas

Presentation at the Interactive Session with UG and PG students held at PES University,
Bangalore South Campus, Electronic City, Bangalore 560100, India, on December 21, 2015

Stephen ARO-GORDON, Ph.D.

Baze University Abuja, Nigeria
Department of Financial Mathematics
Faculty of Computing and Applied Sciences
Email: stephen.aro-gordon@bazeuniversity.edu.ng / getyouthsworking@yahoo.com

December 21, 2015 @ PES University, Bangalore, India 1

Coverage…
General introduction – What & Why of
Report Writing
Types of Report
Format and Structure
The Writing Process – Some advice
Concluding remarks

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2
Resources…
1. Scientific thesis writing and paper presentation. By N. Gurumani (2010).
Chennai: MJP Publishers.
2. Course Guide: CIT802 – Technical Report Writing by National Open University of
Nigeria (2013). Victoria Island, Lagos: School of Science and Technology,
National Open University of Nigeria.
3. How to get a PHD: A handbook for students and their supervisor. 5th edition.
Philips, E. M. & D. S. Pugh (2010 Berkshire, England: Open University Press
4. Guide to technical report writing by H. Prance (2004).. University of Sussex,
www.sussex.ac.uk>schoolsandservices>Engineeringandinformatics>for
students>Engineering and Design>study guides, retrieved 29th March 2015.
5. Research and writing across the disciplines by Ramadass, P. & A. W. Aruni
(2014). Chennai: MJP Publishers.
6. The challenge of establishing world-class universities by J. Salmi (2009). World
Bank Publications

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Resources - continuation
1. The Economist (2015, March/April). The world is going to university, pp.
11-12.
2. Earn what you’re really worth by Brian Tracy (2012). New York:
Vanguard Press.
3. Effective communication for science and technology by J. Van Emden,
(2001). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
4. Research Methods: Tips and technologies by G. Vijayalakshmi, & C.
Sivapragasam (2008). Chennai: MJP Publishers.
5. ’Writing’ by Wikipedia, www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/writing...
6. Writing Reports by University of Leicester,
www2.le.ac.uk>Home>offices>succeed in your studies>fund a
resource>Academic writing>writing resources, retrieved 29th March
2015.

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 First,
Let’s review some keywords
 Academic – relates to education, scholarly, intellectual, theoretical
 Research - methodical investigation into a subject in order to
i. Discover facts
ii. Revise theory
iii. Develop evidence-based plan of action
 Format – structure: the way in which something is presented, organized
or arranged.
 Report – An account of an event, situation, or episode.

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Report Writing…
• Broadly: ‘Report’ – a “A report is written
spoken or written for a clear purpose
description of a situation
or event, giving people and to a particular
the information they audience.”
need.
- University of Leicester
• Descriptive – specific
information and evidence
are presented analysed
and applied to a
particular subject, issue,
or problem.

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Report-writing – Rationale…
 As students, academics, managers or
professionals, we are expected to write regularly,
but the nature of requisite write is seldom
considered and discussed.
 Report writing is a key tool for academic/research
quality assessment .
 Report writing skill is a major tool for learning and
development in the work place - ability to gather
and evaluate relevant information, etc.

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Report-writing
Why we need to talk about it - continuation

Today’s knowledge economy is driven by

first-rate innovative research.
Good report writing skill enhances quality of
teaching, good teaching builds human
capital, quality human capital in turn drives
modern economy.
Many governments now reward Universities
for research – and we cannot do good
research without good report writing skill.
December 21, 2015 @ PES University, Bangalore, India 8
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Report-writing - Continuation
 Some quotable quotes from Brian Tracy (2012)
o “The ability to talk is not the same as the ability to
communicate.”
o “The best communicators do not use a lot of words…”
o “Writing actually sharpens your thinking, stimulates your
creativity, and enables you to focus far better than if you
were just trying to work everything out in your mind.”

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Some important issues
i. Reporting - in what Distinguishing
format/form?
prehistory from
ii. What are you
reporting? history, the latter
iii. To whom are you has been defined
reporting? by the advent of
iv. Is your information writing –
needed? presenting
v. Is it descriptive – information in a
factual, evidence-
based, diligently permanent form.
studied?

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Note other types…

Research Reports

Technical Reports

Press Reports
(Note: Press reporting is outside our present focus at this symposium)

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Technical Reports…
“A technical report is
a formal report
designed to convey
technical information
in a clear and easily
accessible format.”
- Prance (2004)
December 21, 2015 @ PES University, Bangalore, India
 Various consultancy reports
 Appraisal reports
 Feasibility reports
 EIAs
 Engineering reports
 Financial due diligence
 M&E reports
 Field survey reports
 Conference reports
 Committee/Investigative
reports, etc.
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Academic Research Reports
 The ultimate purpose of all research efforts is to prepare and
present a written report that formally documents the research
process and its results.
 Let’s recall what research is all about:
-“Serious study in order to discover new facts, test new facts, test new
ideas or revalidate existing general knowledge about a concept, issue,
situation, or phenomenon.”
- “…a systematic search for more information and knowledge.” -
Vijayalakshmi & Sivapragasam (2008)
- “Fact-finding is research.” – Ramadass & Aruni (2014)
- “Research is a piece of work done to find out an answer to a
question either hypothetical or real.” - Ramadass & Aruni (2014)

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 Audience please!
 “Clear purpose” - Report-writing is about exchange of
information – hence, the premium value attached to the needs
of the AUDIENCE - recipient of the result of your writing.
 Typical audience - CEOs, managers, analysts, investors,
bankers, policy-makers, scholars, examiners, experts,
reviewers, editors, clients, project team members, students,
etc…
 When we write for any purpose, let’s carefully consider the
user’s need, assumptions, instructions, and guidelines – e.g.
guidelines for authors specified by Journal editors, conferences
and scientific meetings.

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Format/structure – General principles

Ensure that what you have presented is

easy to locate and follow.
Your report should have noticeable ‘flow’
from introduction to the end.
In essence, academic report (indeed any
report) should be presented in a clearly
structured format – title, sections,
headings, headings, etc.

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Broad structure
I. INTRODUCTION
II. BODY OF THE REPORT
III. CONCLUSION

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Introductory sections
Section Details
Title Page o The title of the report (note word length/count specifications).
Be brief and explicit. Note name, date, and user, declaration,
certification, where applicable.
Summary o Abstract/Summary/Synopsis – Provide a brief
summary/overview of the report, pivotal features, purpose,
scope, findings, and conclusions (Again, observe / follow word
count specifications)
Content o Number and list all sections/subsections/headings with the
traceable page numbers. Numbering should be clear and
consistent throughout.
Introduction o Provide some brief background information, introduces the
main issue (ToR), background information, purpose, and
significance of the report, and leads straight into the main text.

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A word about titles / topics
Titles are labels, not sentences –
let’s keep them simple and
catchy!
 As a general rule, titles should
not contain acronyms and
jargons.

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Hints on
selecting a good research topic…

 To begin with, is the topic motivating enough (compelling)

to you personally.
 How unique is it? Is the research topic an idea or area that
many / other researchers have already worked on – Your
topic should be original so that it would not amount to
unnecessary duplication.
 How researchable is it? Is the study population reachable /
accessible? Or are you ‘researching’ something rather
‘controversial’ or ‘political’ in nature? Do you have some
moderate amount of data and academic literature on the
subject-matter to warrant your own scientific contribution?

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On selecting a good research topic
Continuation…

 What related issues have been raised in newspapers,

journals, etc.?
 Have you discussed your thoughts with your instructor?
What are his / her views?
 Be flexible enough to change / modify your ‘accepted’ topic
if need be, possibly due to some sudden discoveries,
developments or outright scarcity of data.
 Try to keep academic research topic simple – your ‘little’
contribution to the world of knowledge is just good enough;
if you uncover some great things, that’s great too!!

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Writing your Abstract – An aide-memoire

B Background information.
P Purpose – The research’s principal activity.
M Methodology – How the work was done.
F Findings – The key results of the study.
C Conclusions – relevance to the study’s
theme.
Source: Ramadass & Aruni (2014)

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The main body of the report…

Section Details
Literature o Status of general knowledge on the issue; include
Review key applicable concepts/theoretical framework and
recent empirical evidence, if any.
Methodology o Information on the research process, i.e. how you
approached the investigation/facts-gathering
instruments, and analysis; justification for the
adopted sampling system/case where applicable.
Results o Presentation and relevant discussion/inference
from the research results; summary of the findings
and implications bearing in mind the report’s
overall aims and objectives

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 The concluding sections…
Section Details
Conclusion o A brief, logical summing-up of the central ideas developed in
the main body of the text. Demonstrate the overall
significance of the report/research/work done – relatedness
or otherwise to established knowledge / theory / principles.
No new material is needed here, except, perhaps few
aspects that require further studies.
References o List details of published sources of material used in the text,
including websites used. In some cases, you may include a
bibliography – other sources of materials not used but
considered useful for further reading.
Endnotes o Where applicable, list people who assisted you in the
research or preparation of the report
Appendices o Any additional material that is essential for full
comprehension of the text, but not needed by a casual
reader.

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Some presentation issues…
o Script font and paper - e.g. 12pt, Times New Roman or Arial?)
o Margins – Subject to the recipient's specific requirements, the general
rule for typed reports in A4 paper are: 3.81cm (1.5 inches) on the left
and 2.5cm (1 inch) on all the other sides (Gurumani, 2010).
o Spacing: single- or double-spaced? Typing in double space is generally
advised.
o Pagination.
o Binding.
 Note: Follow all the relevant editorial guidelines carefully.

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 Read widely…
o First thing first! Embrace an active reading culture (=
research reading/scanning)
o Extensive research reading (reading articles / papers
published in reputed peer-reviewed international Journals)
will help you to become familiar with good writing skills and
expressions because you will be able gain valuable insights
into the work done by other authors/writers/research workers
in the field.
o Perhaps most importantly, with extensive reading culture,
you will be more “current” and better positioned to identify
the gaps in knowledge and enrich your own contribution.

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The writing process – Further advice
o Plan / plan / plan! “Begin with the end in mind”
– Stephen Covey
o Information-gathering: Keeping accurate records of published
references that you want to use in your report.
o Flexibility/creativity – Be open to fresh ideas as they emerge – let the
emerging ideas flow!
o Structuring the report – Work with a template to start with and follow
the outline in terms of headings and subheadings.
o Producing the first draft – A useful result-oriented flow could be:
Main Text Conclusion Introduction Summary!
 (NOTE: Process-wise, you can do your styling/formatting / graphics
later)

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Revising the first draft…
o Brevity (economy of words), double-
checking for coherence, technicalities,
logicalities, grammar, spelling, etc., are key
to quality academic report writing.
o Maintain known standards -Watch your
vocabulary, grammar, and semantics.
o Revise your first draft at least four times
before finalizing it.

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Use of TABLES and FIGURES…
o Diagrams, (pictures!), graphs, tables, maths – keep them
simple and relevant within main text, otherwise, they should
go into an appendix.
o Question: Should we use both a Table and a Graph in
the same paper?
o Answer: As a general rule, presentation of data both in
a Table and in a Diagram is not encouraged – never
allowed in a journal (Gurumani, 2010).
o We can use a Figure (graph / chart) where we need to
highlight a trend or do a comparative analysis.

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Use of TABLES and FIGURES…
Continuation…

o Try to ensure that your Table is placed as immediately as

possible next to its first introduction in the text.
o A paragraph should not be broken for the sake of placing a
Table.
o Every Table should have a caption/precise title placed
above the Table.
o All the Tables in a document should be serially numbered
(Arabic or Roman) for easy identification. Again,
maintaining consistency in the numbering system is vital.
o Ensure that the rows/cells in the Table are logical and fully
labelled – let’s not confuse the reader or assume that the
reader knows our intention!
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Honesty:
It is still the best policy
o Originality versus plagiarism – Copying someone
else’s words, facts or ideas without reference,
passing them off as our own is a serious offence.
o Be very careful with the use of ‘cut and paste’.
o Intellectual honesty is very key – your report
should be honest and reliable, not only in terms of
the data-collection process and but also in terms of
factual data-presentation.

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Few more thoughts
o Communication through writing is about effectiveness – too many
changes in style wont help your reader.
o Information is about quality – attractive, well-structured and packaged
report is key.
o Brevity – watch information overload. Your time and that of the reader
are no less important factors for impactful reports.
o Proofreading versus Word processing – Have the habit of giving
your work to other people to read before submitting the piece of work.
Don’t be fooled - computer outputs will not make up for poor content
and sloppy work!
o Collaborative research – This has a huge quality assurance
advantage.

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Still on Clarity & Brevity…
Clarity is very key to scientific writing and
there is no room or need for ornamentation
in scientific writing!
-(Ramadass & Aruni, 2014)

No ego trip – Personal pronouns such as I,

we, you, me, my, ours or us, should not, as a
general rule, appear. Focus on the issue
and evidence-based solutions.

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British or American English?

Choose one style and

be consistent with it
throughout your report.

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Which reference citation style?

 APA (American Psychological Association) style?

 Harvard style?
 CBE (Council of Biology Editors) style? Etc.
 Ensure compliance with the editor’s/publisher’s
guidelines or specifications and be consistent
throughout the report.
 Check (and double check!) to ensure the inclusion
of all the references cited in the text into the section
listing the References.

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Feedback as a learning tool…

o Peer-review responses – Smile! Use the

feedbacks (critiques, positives or rejects)
from reviewers to improve your writing
skills.

Respond humbly to “harsh” commentaries if you

have to, but don’t react!
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Feedback as a learning tool…

o“It is a badge of
honour to accept
valid criticism.”
- Proverbs 25: 12

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How would you describe a good report?
i. Attractive – great, precise title, neatly typed, good paper,
relevant diagrams and graphs.
ii. Balanced language – simple, basic, technical (but not too
technical!) and befitting the subject/issue addressed.
iii. Brief – to the point, no redundant sentence, no repetition of
facts. The best sentence to express an idea is not necessarily the
longest one.
iv. Accurate – Valid, reliable, scientific, factual, evidence-based, not
imaginary or sentimental.
v. Practical – Recommendations/implications/suggestions are
relevant to the subject and implementable.
vi. Wholesome – Release useful hints, caveats, regarding difficulties
or shortcomings encountered to assist future investigators.
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Ten-minute oral presentation of your report:
A suggested template… “GOMRIS”

1. Research G-ap
2. O-bjectives
3. M-ethodology
4. R-esults / Findings
5. I-mplications – Business / Economics /
Policy
6. S-cope / suggestions for further
research
December 21, 2015 @ PES University, Bangalore, India 38 3
Concluding remarks
 Ability to organize your thoughts and the results of your investigations
and to write clear, precise, and well-structured reports, is a crucial skill for
academic and professional success. To this end, this presentation tried to
share some practical ideas for writing excellent scientific reports.
 The need to identify and to carefully note and comply with editorial
requirements of the research agency or academic institution to which a
report would be submitted, was again stressed.
 A research will not be deemed complete until its outcome has been
communicated to the stakeholders, co-researchers, scholars, funding
agencies, practitioners and policy makers, etc. It is therefore imperative
for the researcher to communicate effectively, inform qualitatively, and,
above all, concisely.

December 21, 2015 @ PES University, Bangalore, India 39 3

Stephen ARO-GORDON, Ph.D.
Baze University Abuja, Nigeria
Department of Financial Mathematics
Faculty of Computing & Applied Sciences
Email: stephen.aro-gordon@bazeuniversity.edu.ng /
getyouthsworking@yahoo.com

December 21, 2015 @ PES University, Bangalore, India 40

Caveat / feedback …
 All the materials used in this presentation are solely for
educational purpose, advancement of knowledge and
improvement of educational practices to move the society
forward. The author will be pleased to make good any
omissions or rectify any mistakes brought to his attention at
the earliest possible opportunity.

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